N.Y. man's death leads police to arsenal

Jun. 29, 2013
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Police investigating a survivalist's shotgun death on June 25 at his Mahopac, N.Y. home found grenades, tracer rounds, gunpowder, blasting caps, military ordnance and a large number of automatic weapons and ammunition, Carmel police said. / The (Westchester County, N.Y.) Journal News

MAHOPAC, N.Y. -- Jonathan Orser's neighbors knew he owned a tank, but few suspected the survivalist, who was killed by his own shotgun Tuesday, had more than 100 firearms, tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition and improvised grenades, Carmel police said.

"It was really a surprise," said Rich DiRusso, commander of the Greater Mahopac Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5491, which meets nearby. "I had no clue he was that much of an equipment man."

Orser, 41, a former Marine Corps reservist whose home has a full-sized British amphibious tank in the backyard, was found in the house by his wife with a fatal shotgun wound in the chest about 11:35 p.m., Carmel police Chief Michael Johnson said.

Orser shot himself in the chest while cleaning weapons for a gun event, Johnson said. Police do not consider it suspicious, the chief said. They are awaiting a coroner's report.

"He cleans the guns and polishes them up," Johnson said of Orser. "He was found on the floor, surrounded by rifles and shotguns."

Investigators questioning Orser's friends learned that Orser, a plumber and heating, ventilating and air-conditioning contractor, was a gun aficionado and survivalist who possibly had automatic weapons in the house.

As they arrived to remove those, they discovered Orser also had explosives and munitions, including tracer rounds, buckets of gunpowder - he made his own bullets - six improvised grenades, about 300 20mm machine gun rounds and 23 military mechanical time fuses, Johnson said.

Police also found blasting caps, which Johnson said are fragile and "could have caused the whole house to go up and maybe surrounding houses."

"He is a survivalist. He deals with guns, he goes to gun shows," Johnson said of Orser. "He supposedly was a firearms expert and a safety instructor also."

The discovery of illegal explosives prompted evacuations of nearby homes while the explosives were removed. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Westchester County Bomb Squad were called in about 6 p.m. Thursday.

The county squad asked for help from the 725th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, based in Fort Drum, N.Y., which arrived early Friday. Camouflaged, helmeted soldiers could be seen removing items from a basement window of the ranch-style home. The explosives were to be transported to West Point for disposal.

Police also received assistance from ATF agents in checking each weapon to make sure none of them were stolen or used in a crime. Johnson said he did not know if Orser had permits for any of the guns.

ATF spokesman Charles Mulham told The Journal News the agency was assisting with the removal but that no federal investigation had been initiated.

The Orser home sits on 1.1 acres.

The tank, rusted with rubber wheels and plugged gun barrel, stood in the backyard. Its muzzle pointed away from the house.

The tank used to be parked in the front, said DiRusso, who remembered Orser saying he had bought it in an online auction for $21,000 and hauled it home by flatbed truck.

"He bought it for parades," DiRusso said.

Shortly after he bought the tank in 2002, Orser had the vehicle registered and could be seen driving it around town, Johnson said.

But having a tank prominently parked in the front drew too much attention - causing more than a few rear-enders when motorists took their eyes off the road to stare at the vehicle, the chief said.

Because it was such a distraction, police asked Orser to move the tank to the backyard, Johnson said.

Stephen Johnson, who lives three houses away, said, "It's obviously very troubling ... but beyond that, I'm not certain what to think."

Johnson had seen Orser's tank from time to time and "always thought it was a little strange. But then I would see it surface at parades, and I thought that wasn't unusual."